LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18387, 1 May 1923, Page 6

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

Tho date of opening of the oyster season in Auckland has not yet been definitely determined, but it is regarded i as certain that the season will be opened by June 1. Last year the season opened a few days ■ before June 1. The 'beds at Russell and in. the Hauraki Gulf are reported to be in good condition, and an inspection will bo made this week of the Ksti para beds, which possibly will be drawn on this year. Prospects for a good oyster season are stated to be very bright. : Considerable consternation has been caused among residents of the Epsom district by what appears to be an organised campaign of poisoning waged against pet j dogs, cats and. kittens. A resident of tho district stated yesterday that he had on Sunday secured the names of no fewer than 12 residents who had suffered in this way. Within a radius of one mile and a-quarter of Greenwood's Corner Pomeranian . pet dogs, Persian cats, and other pet and house animals are alleged to have been maliciously poisoned. A two-year-old boy named Richard Oswald Foley was reported as missing from his home, 44, Nelson Street, last evening. The boy was last seen at five o'clock when he was in the company of a Maori, going in the direction of College Hill. He was dressed in a brown woollen coat, and was barefooted and bareheaded. He has dark eyes and brown hair. A tour of districts surrounding Te Kuiti is to be made by a number of members of Parliament this week. . .. The visit has been arranged to enable members to see the difficulties under which settlers labour owing to the native land tenure system. The tour will commence to-day. The unsuitability and inadequacy of the Parnell school and grounds were referred to by the school committee in its annual report : presented to the householders last evening. Of alternative sites which had received the attention of the committee and Education Board, the St. Stephen's Maori School site was the most suitable, but the board despaired of ever persuading the Diocesan Trust Board to come to a suitable arrangement by which the land might bo acquired. The position at the present moment was that the Education Board was conducting fresh negotiations for the acquisition of a new site. The Auckland tallymen's dispute was considered by a conciliation council yesterday. The conciliation commissioner, Mr. P. Hally, presided, and the assessors were:—For the employers, Messrs. D. Carter, R. Foreman, and T. E. Sin el; for the union. Messrs. W. Gardner, H. B. Clarke, and H. J. Sheppard. Mr. S. E. Wright appeared as advocate'for the employers. . The new agreement is similar to the last, except that there is a reduction in the rate of pay for overtime. The City fire brigade received a call to a chimney fire in the residence of Mr. Brady, near the lower end of Hobson Street about five o'clock last evening. ..No damage was done. " Attendance at school for six consecutive years without missing half a day is the remarkable achievement of three pupils attending schools in the Mount Eden district. They are Anna Gibson, of the Mount Eden School, and Jessie Farmer and Eric Drake, of the Maungawhau School. At the meeting of Mount Eden householders last evening each of the three pupils received from the School Committee recognitions of their creditable record in the form of an inscribed silver medal. " ' •'' . , . The total number of votes cast in the recent city municipal election was 10,954 On the loans proposals 6362 votes were recorded. The official recount of votes cast' for- members of the City Council does' not make'' any material alteration to the results previously announced. The value of the" Young Citizens' League movement to the community . was endorsed at., the meeting of Ponsonby householders last evening, when a resolution • of appreciation was carried unanimously. In this resolution the meeting recorded appreciation of the fact that a, roll of membership of the league nad been instituted during the year at the Ponsonby district school, and heartily commended the movement as a means of promoting co-operation between parents, teachers, and others interested in the important matter of character training for future citizenship. The thanks of householders was also extended to Mr. E. L. Cutten and those associated with him. in this splendid movement. Colder weather has been experienced in the Waikato since the recent rainstorm. A sharp frost was recorded at Ngaruawahia on Sunday night. A boy named Ronald Notman, aged nine, was knocked down by a motor-car in Quay Street, opposite the Ferry Buildings, about three o'clock yesterday afternoon. The boy, who lives in Brook Street, Takapuna, sustained a broken leg, and was admitted to the Auckland Hospital. A collision between the steam tram and a motor-lorry owned by Mr. W. H. Smale, a carrier, occurred on the Northcote Road tram route, Takapuna, yesterday morning. A man riding on the lorry was cut about the face by broken glass. Both the engine and the lorry were somewhat damaged. The retiring members, Messrs. James E. Biddick and T. Coates, were the only nominees for the vacancies on the Orakei Road Board. They have accordingly been declared elected. " Strong grounds exist for believing that there is an impression among young people that it was quite safe for them to indulge in crime for the first time at least. Thai impression must be corrected," said Mr. Justice Adams in sentencing three young burglars at Christchurch yesterday. He commented on the use of firearms, in the case under review, saying it was reasonable to assume that if tho prisoners had been disturbed, serious consequences might have resulted to the men who were defending the law against open and flagrant law-breakers. " A boy of sixteen out here is egual to one of eighteen in Great Britain,'' said the Dominicp ;Chjef Scout, Lord Jellicoe, at the annual meeting of tho committee, of the Council for New Zealand of flio Boy Scouts' Association at Christchurch. A shock awaited two residents of Wei lington when they returned from their honeymoon. They found all the sma-ler articles, such as crockery and cutievv. everything, in fact, save the heavier articles of furniture, removed. Neighbours state that motor-cars were feen outside the home in the owner's absence. Soon New Zealand should be supplying herself with Dominion-made handles for axes, shovels, rakes, picks, hammers, and adzes, as well as clothes pegs for the busy housewife, says an exchange. At a meeting of the Canterbury District Committee of the British Empire Exhibition, several very fine samples of the articles were on view. They were made from the Southland beech, and compare most favourably with those at present imported from America and made from American hickory. The handles are just as cheap, if not slightly cheaper, and the wood lias a perfectly straight grain. | When lhe coastal road between Wesfj port and Greyrnouth is completed, it is | anticipated that tourists will come from I Nelson to West port and proceed to ! Greymouth along the coast, where there !is scenery considered by many to stir- ! pass chat, in any other part, of the Doj minion, and including grottos of palms t similar to those obtaininc in Oriental 1 countries. The scenic charm- u\ the i West Coast have not been finally «r.- ! plored yet. The completion of the Otira j tunnel will bring thousands . of ' people from the east side of the island over to Ifrom the east side of the island over on explore the scenic beauties obtaining on , ib» West Coast.